Mobile devices, such as mobile phones, often have location capabilities that identify the location of the mobile device. For example, a mobile device may have an installed global positioning system (GPS) receiver. Applications installed on the mobile device can access the GPS receiver to determine the mobile device's location coordinates. The application can then provide application-specific functionality using the location coordinates. In one example, an application may cause display of a map and an indication of the current location of the mobile device within the map display. In another example, a social networking application may enable a user of the mobile device to “check in” at a local establishment, which causes the user's social networking information to be updated on the Internet. In another example, an application installed on the mobile device uses the mobile device's location to provide location-specific content to a user of the mobile device, such as a location-specific advertisement or other marketing material.
Other types of location capabilities besides GPS are available. In one example, the location of a mobile tower that the mobile device is connected to can be used to determine a location of the mobile device. In a similar example, a Wi-Fi network location can be used to identify a mobile device's location.